Bloomfield mayor: 'Crazy' record requests bog down office

In his State of the Township address, Bloomfield Mayor Raymond McCarthy says he is looking forward to development.

Bloomfield Mayor Raymond McCarthy says the township deals with an inordinate amount of "crazy" public record requests, which flood the Township Clerk's Office each week, slowing municipal work.

Local open government advocate Patricia Gilleran, however, said it's not up to government workers and politicians to decide which requests are legitimate or not.

The spat began when McCarthy mentioned the number of Open Public Records Acts requests during his State of the Township address at the Jan. 8 council meeting.

"Besides all the work with licenses and permits, our Clerk's Office has handled more than 777 OPRA requests last year alone," he said then. "That's about three a day.

"For the most part, they are viable requests about a number of things that people need for their own records. It's those countless others that are made for all the wrong reasons that make it difficult for the office."

Requested information does not require a reason.

The mayor stood by his comments to Bloomfield Life. He said requests bog down the Clerk's Office. He cited a flood of requests sent in involving the Bloomfield Health and Human Services Department, which handles the animal shelter.

"The crazy stuff is still there," McCarthy lamented during a phone interview. "We had Pat Gilleran ask us something else the other day. [Township employees] are not doing the jobs they're supposed to do."

Gilleran defended her complaint. "It's the cost of the government doing business. It's to be expected," she said.

Having citizen involvement in local government means more transparency, Gilleran added.

"He should be happy that people are interested in government records, rather than him complain about their interests in government records," she said of McCarthy. "He should not govern in a vacuum."

Right to know

So what exactly is OPRA? It's a New Jersey statute that governs access to government records of public agencies on the state, county and local levels. It provides anyone with statutory rights to access government records.

There are 24 exemptions to the rule - such as attorney-client privilege and criminal investigatory records - but otherwise, access favors public viewing. In most cases, requests must be met within seven business days. Some say OPRA doesn't go far enough.

Bills 1451 and 1452, sponsored by State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-37th), are making its way through the Legislature. They would strengthen public right-to-know laws. In April, the Bloomfield Township Council voted to oppose those bills, agreeing with Municipal Clerk Louise Palagano that the additional requirements would be too onerous.

In an analysis of the 27-page list of 700-plus OPRA requests that the township received, Bloomfield Life found that:

• Nearly 35 percent of the requests were made for motor vehicle accident reports or others looking for tax lien information;

• Bloomfield Life made OPRA requests 10 times in 2012;

• A bulk of Gilleran's requests were aimed at the Board of Health, and her 53 requests is the most of anyone;